I'll bet during our busy season, April to December, (the other three months it's usually too cold to do much concrete here) we are pouring concrete floors with radiant heat every week.

Many of the new homes we pour are installing radiant heated floors in their basement floors, first floors, and garage floors.

The science behind radiant heat floors is very simple: Tubes that circulate hot water or an electrical heating element are embedded in the concrete slab when it is poured, turning the thermal mass of the concrete into a terrific radiator of warm, even heat.

The Many Benefits Of Radiant Heat Floors

Your feet are always warm

The temperature is consistent

No drafts or noise from blowing air

No dust or allergens blowing around in the air

Pay lower utility costs

Consumes less energy

Installing In Floor Radiant Heating

Installing the tubes for in floor radiant heating is something you can do yourself. You should have a professional figure out the zones and lay out a diagram of the tube installation for you.

A very flat well compacted subgrade is important. The next step is to lay down a poly vapor barrier on top of the subgrade to restrict moisture vapor from coming up through the concrete slab.

I like to see two inches of rigid styrofoam on top of the poly, then the flat sheets of wire mesh on top of the styrofoam to tie the radiant heat tubes to. Plastic zip ties or wire ties can be used to tie the in floor radiant heat tubes to the wire.

Some radiant heating installers just use plastic staples to secure the tubes to the styrofoam and leave out the wire. I find when we are pouring the concrete floor, especially with a pump truck, these staples pop out very easily.

Take a little extra time and do it right the first time, you will have no problems when the concrete floor is being installed.

Here's a couple good books to read if you're thinking of installing radiant heat on your own. One is about installing the pex tubes and the other is more about the boiler.